July 20 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks ended the week almost
unchanged as the International Monetary Fund said risks of a
slowdown in Chinese growth are increasing while the Federal
Reserve allayed concern the U.S. is planning to curb stimulus.

GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd. surged 13 percent for the
week on speculation tariffs on polysilicon shipped to China will
cut supplies from the U.S. and South Korea, boosting earnings at
the world’s largest maker of materials used in solar panels.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest
contract manufacturer of chips, slumped 11 percent in Taipei
after forecasting sales that trailed analyst estimates. Nissan
Motor Co., a Japanese carmaker that gets about 80 percent of
sales abroad, climbed a third week as the yen weakened against
the dollar.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index ended the week at 134.93, up
from 134.88 on July 12, to continue its longest streak of gains
since the week ending March 15. Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told a
House committee there was no preset course for the U.S. central
bank’s asset purchases, tempering speculation the Fed would
begin to trim its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program as
early as September.

“The chances are that we see growth in the U.S. economy
strengthening over the next 12 months,” David Cassidy, the
Sydney-based head of equity strategy for Australia at UBS AG,
said by phone. “There’s scope for equities to move higher with
earnings growth and a gradual economic recovery.”

Gains Limited

Gains on the benchmark regional equities gauge were limited
to 4.3 percent this year, compared with an 18 percent surge on
the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as concern mounted that a
manufacturing slowdown in China and the worst cash shortage in a
decade may curb earnings growth. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index is
trading at 13.2 times average estimated earnings compared with
15.3 for the S&P 500 and 13.4 times for the Stoxx Europe 600
Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

China’s economy, the world’s second-largest, expanded 7.5
percent in the three months to June 30, a report showed July 15.
That matched the median forecast of 45 economists surveyed by
Bloomberg.

The International Monetary Fund said July 17 risks are
increasing that China’s economic growth will fall short of the
institution’s 7.75 percent annual forecast as it urged the
nation to follow through on reforms to sustain expansion.
Premier Li Keqiang said this month restructuring should proceed
as long as growth and employment stay above unspecified limits.

‘Earnings Interest’

“There appears to be very little to stop the growth
slowdown in China,” said Matthew Sherwood, head of investment
markets research in Sydney at Perpetual Investments, which
manages about $25 billion. “The earnings season is taking on
renewed interest as companies which have rallied strongly are
having to prove their recent surge is justified.”

China in March stepped up a three-year campaign to cool
housing speculation, and has studied expanding property-tax
trials after implementing them in Shanghai and Chongqing.
China’s June new home prices rose in 69 of 70 cities the
government tracked from a year earlier, a report showed July 18.

Developers trading in Hong Kong fell for the week amid
concern measures to curb rising property prices will remain
intact. China Resources Land Ltd., which gets all of its revenue
on the mainland, lost 9.6 percent to HK$19.72. China Overseas
Land & Investment Ltd. sank 3.7 percent to HK$20.75, and Agile
Property Holdings Ltd slid 2.2 percent to HK$7.91.

‘Targeting Developers’

“The Chinese government has been targeting developers for
at least three and a half years now, so they’re not operating in
a friendly environment,” said Alex Wong, a Hong Kong-based
director at Ample Capital Ltd. “You can not expect any easier
environment for them in the near term.”

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index ended the week little changed
as the Reserve Bank of Australia said the currency’s decline and
interest-rate cuts meant its policy setting was appropriate even
as it maintained room for future reductions, according to
minutes of its July 2 meeting. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index fell
0.7 percent.

The Topix climbed 0.8 percent this week, a fifth straight
weekly gain. That’s the biggest such advance since April 2009
and the longest winning streak since February. The measure
extended gains this year amid optimism Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
will push through economic reforms after tomorrow’s upper house
elections.

Biggest Gains

Japanese shares have topped gains this year among 24 major
developed equity markets tracked by Bloomberg News. The Topix
index surged 41 percent and the Nikkei 225 Stock Average soared
40 percent in 2013 as Abe and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko
Kuroda pushed to stoke the nation’s inflation rate to 2 percent.

Japanese exporters climbed as the yen declined to 100.65
per dollar, from 99.22 per dollar at the end of last week.
Nissan climbed 2.4 percent to 1,121 yen, a third week of gains.
Honda Motor Co. advanced 1.8 percent to 3,875 yen.

Victory tomorrow would give Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition the strongest grip on power since 2007,
strengthening its ability to carry out the three-pronged plan of
monetary easing, fiscal stimulus and structural reform known as
Abenomics. The LDP and partner New Komeito are on track to
secure a majority, according to a poll published in the Nikkei
newspaper on July 17.

GCL, Taiwan Semi

GCL soared 13 percent to HK$1.96. The Chinese ruling is
“positive” for domestic polysilicon manufacturers such as GCL-Poly because it may reduce supplies from abroad, boosting prices
for the raw material in China, Timothy Lam, a Hong Kong-based
analyst at Citigroup Inc. wrote in a report July 18. Importers
of raw material to make solar panels into China must pay the
duties beginning July 24.

Taiwan Semi tumbled 11 percent to NT$98.20 as the Hsinchu,
Taiwan-based firm joined Intel Corp. predicting third-quarter
sales below analyst expectations. The company forecast third-quarter sales of as much as NT$164 billion ($5.5 billion) in the
three months ending September, compared with the NT$164.5
billion average of 25 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg
before the announcement.

Tencent Holdings Ltd., operator of China’s No. 1 mobile
messaging application, jumped 7.8 percent to a record HK$333.80
as the State Council pledged to upgrade telecommunications and
Internet infrastructure. Tencent is the best-performing stock on
the Hang Seng Index this year.

Treasury Wine Estates Ltd., the world’s second-biggest
listed winemaker by revenue, slumped 18 percent to A$4.77 in
Sydney after saying it would write off A$160 million ($145
million), greater than the company’s expected net income this
year. The decision was made to address excess stock in the U.S.,
Treasury Wine’s largest division by sales, the company said.